*spin off* Desserts
From your childhood

The rice pudding thread had me thinking about desserts. Or maybe it is my healthy eating plan that had me thinking about desserts.

I grew up in a typical Australian meat and 3 veg family.Rice pudding (we called it "Baked Rice") was a regular on our menu.We had dessert every evening during the week. We rarely had ice-cream. Just didn't grow up with it.

I was thinking about desserts we used to have:Sago pudding (not lemon sago, just sago with egg etc.) - I like this one. Bread and butter custard - no no no no no, though I have had decent one in a restaurant recentlyGolden Syrup Dumplings - delicious - but only had this in winterJunket (flavoured)Stewed prunesTinned fruitPineapple Snow (pineapple mixed with egg whites and stuff)BlancmangeJam Roly POly - very basic dough rolled with jam and baked - like a depression dessertHome made custard (we fought over the skin which we called the "thick bit").

I remember my mum doing a 'special' treat of tinned peach halves, stewed in orange juice and sherry, topped with slivered almonds. But ONLY when she was having a dinner party! I thought she was so fancy and progressive circa 1980

We didn't have proper desserts often - usually ice cream with jelly or tinned fruit, but I do have fond memories of jam and cream on fresh white bread or packet self-saucing pudding on special occassions.

We had bananas and custard with a little coconut on top and our sago was lemon which I keep meaning to make again but I only know the Asian version now.We also used yo have banana or apple fritters and a big treat was thick white bread with jam and cream.

We did have ice cream but I went off it after hearing on the radio it had the same chemical as paint stripper. I do it eat it now so must have gotten over that.

We had bananas and custard with a little coconut on top and our sago was lemon which I keep meaning to make again but I only know the Asian version now.We also used yo have banana or apple fritters and a big treat was thick white bread with jam and cream.

We did have ice cream but I went off it after hearing on the radio it had the same chemical as paint stripper. I do it eat it now so must have gotten over that.

Ah yes! Banana Custard. Common dessert for us too. Though mum was never as fancy as to add coconut.

Jelly! I only get jelly at other people's children's parties now... and it is never jellied rhubarb like my Mummy made (also served with custard in winter)

Or the best ever - when we were at our holiday house being sent across the road to the little shop with a serving bowl and getting ice cream!

DP was agog at that and (this is quite embarrassing to admit - I hadn't actually worked it out for myself) that yes while I DID get to choose the flavour by being the one who took the bowl over... in fact it was very likely that no one else in the family would have done it as (in his words) "That is a very weird thing to do Countrymel, I don't think your parents or especially your sister would have wanted to..."

My mum used to make apple pie or various crumbles. When we were very little we got custard or sliced bananas with milk and sprinkles.

Rhubarb featured a lot, although my mum doesn't add any sugar to rhubarb so a lot of our desserts were quite tart - stewed unsweetened rhubarb and natural unsweetened yoghurt scarred my older brother for life. I threatened to plant rhubarb in his garden once and he ranted for days.

We did have ice cream, but it was kept in the chest freezer in the spider-filled shed which was a long way from the house and it wasn't often one of us volunteered to go get it!

The dreaded banana custard - I do not like bananas and it was packaged pouring custard.

Classy was tinned two fruits (which I no longer eat now tha I am an adult!) and a scoop of ice cream or more of the above mentioned custard.

Really special occasions, Mum would buy a Vienetta...

Sadly, I am in need of post-traumatic desert deprivation therapy. I am a self-confessed pudding lover (I vote yes for rice pud and have at least four variations on bread and butter pud) which I attribute directly to the neglect of my childhood.

Sounds like everyone's mum made the same desserts!! This thread has certainly jogged my memory!

Pancakes with lemon and sugarRice with milk and sugarMacaroni with milk and sugarSago with milk and sugarStewed fruit with custardFruit saladBanana custardJunket (a good way to get calcium into us, mum used to say)Golden syrup dumplings

But she used to buy Sara Lees chocolate Bavarian cheesecakes. So gross. God we ate a lot of them. And those hideous Danishes. Apricot or apple and blueberry. Served with cream. Or like the PP a Vienetta. Yek yek yek.

Sadly, I am in need of post-traumatic desert deprivation therapy. I am a self-confessed pudding lover (I vote yes for rice pud and have at least four variations on bread and butter pud) which I attribute directly to the neglect of my childhood.

Yes EB should allow us to have a PTDDT forum!

We rarely had dessert growing up but each year our nana would make us one homemade solid chocolate Easter egg that would take us 2 weeks to get through. Each night we would unwrap the alfoil and rabbit away on it. Pure bliss, until you got a piece of alfoil stuck between your teeth.

Port wine jelly and blue ribbon ice-cream Stewed apple and ice-creamRice, sugar and milkPuff pastry with a sugar glaze at would go all crunchy and the layers would flake in your mouth with stewed apple and ice-creamWhite wings chocolate or butterscotch self saucing pudding and ice-creamRice pudding

My grandparents used to stew and freeze fruit. My favourite was stewed apricots, followed by peaches, then pears then apples. Unfortunately they only had one apricot tree. They also preserved passionfruit which was amazing with icecream!!